Head of the Linggang Mapan village Dimas Diwen rejected reports that the village had been involved in the protest against gold mining firm PT Kelian Equatorial Mining (KEM).
He told Suara Kaltim that the protest was engineered by a man identified as Edom who asked a few of the villagers late last year to join him to blockade road to PT KEM in a protest against the company. He said that Edom and his group made the protest in the name of the Linggang Mapan village. He also said that the Police recorded the village as the protester.
"The Linggang Mapan village has never protested against KEM," Dimas said.
The paper said that Edom was former employee of KEM who was disappointed after his application to joint the company again was rejected.(*)
